cruisin from florida

21 hours ago, soremekun said:

Yeah.  I was too aggressive purchasing two next cruise certificates last month.  

Feel the same way.

32 minutes ago, cruisin from florida said:

We're on her for a short cruise in Decatur. Definitely hoping that the mattresses will be improved a bit for the WC, and that we'll reap the benefits.

In December. What happened to the edit function?😳

On 11/10/2023 at 4:02 PM, ONECRUISER said:

Was on B4B in Sept onboard was 25 Contractors doing work. They'd get off and back on with us for Zero count on turn around days. This area along with Conference Room was packed full inc new Coolers and the new thicker Mattresses that they were replacing each wk. Were also doing new wiring along all Passenger decks. Nice see area emptied out

We're on her for a short cruise in Decatur. Definitely hoping that the mattresses will be improved a bit for the WC, and that we'll reap the benefits.

Thanks everyone! When booking a guarantee, we accepted that we'd be happy with what we got. Midship on relatively high deck is a bonus!

We just booked a last minute (sails in 3 weeks) cruise. Saw a good deal on a balcony guarantee and grabbed it. After a few days of barcode showing "-GTY" it is now showing a cabin number, and I'm really happy with the location.

Has anybody seen their cabin number change after the barcode trick shows a cabin assignment? I don't want to get too excited if it's likely to change.

We're doing a Celebrity Med cruise followed by a Royal transatlantic from Barcelona. They hit 4 of the same ports (fine by me, we've never been there, so a second day is welcome!) It's VERY interesting to see the price differences in the exact same excursions between the X and RCCL cruises.

13 minutes ago, Blue Eyed Belfast Belle said:

Check out the RCI Blog - an article has just been published saying that there will only be 6 ships in Europe 2025 (a 33% reduction from 9 in 2023)  but by sending bigger ships and the total capacity will be reduced by 23%.

 

By comparison NCL is sending 8 ships including NCL Viva and Prima.

 

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. 

 

Apparently they want to focus on cruises that call at Perfect Day at Coco Cay!

I understand that these are business decisions, and the company is called Royal CARIBBEAN, but I'm still disappointed. We live in Florida and are done with Caribbean cruises except with friends and family. We want to see new places, and had hoped to reach Pinnacle seeing them on Royal Caribbean. Loved our Greek isles cruise and want to do more "new to us" European ports.

We'll see how it plays out.

3 minutes ago, Saab4444 said:

yes, only Reykjavik is not good if you want to see Iceland.

I'm anxiously waiting for it to be bookable. I would really like to see prices on the '25 Brilliance.

I got voom on one upcoming cruise (brilliance, Panama canal, 9/24) for $15.99 per day. Finally a real deal.

16 minutes ago, tonygcharles said:

I've  seen early 2025 showing and bookable for a while,  

Guess we'll  have to wait for tomorrow.. or longer  ?

Is that on the US RCCL site? What are you putting in as search parameters?

Just now, tonygcharles said:

U talking about 2025 or 2026 ?

Either. I did a search on Allure. For February of 25 (the latest date it shows) the only destination is the Bahamas. 

I've noticed that the search engine filter can be funky. I'll go sacrifice a rooster and try again.

1 hour ago, st5310 said:

I agree, but the staff are not supposed to ask.  I know they do anyway and I mostly ignore it.

If the survey asks about it, I'm honest. And frankly, the folks who have REALLY given outstanding service know it, and don't generally ask. I see it mostly in the dining room. 

9 minutes ago, Crism said:

Feb 10 Allure, Miami to Barcelona, 12 night just popped up but showing closed for booking. Stops in Cartagena and Valencia.

I can't see it at all. IT needs deployment help. (Pun intended).

1 hour ago, Tulsacoker said:

I agree, even when giving them a tip on the last evening the waiter aske to please take the survey and give a good review if we felt it. 

I hate being asked to give good reviews. Yuck.

2 hours ago, jjjandkk said:

What are the options for getting from the Revenna port to Venice, (not the airport, as we are spending a few days there before returning home).  The only train schedule I see is 8:45 departure from Revenna and we are unfamiliar with the area.  Does RCCL have a bus to Venice?  

It did in September '22. You could go to the airport or Venice. Same price.

With the service going down (once per day cabin service) and autogratuities going up, we may not tip as much additionally as before, unless the service is really outstanding. Unfortunately,  that's less likely than ever before because the staffing levels have been reduced. We'll probably still add a cash tip for our d+ drinks.

We're booked on Ovation 4/29/25 Honolulu to Vancouver. 

1 minute ago, Daisi said:

 

Trying to understand the air deviation/extension charge. Is that for when Viking sends you your flights if you wish to change them you have to pay? Avalon allows you to choose your flights (they offer a selection, but you just have to easily check what is available) at no extra charge. The only extra charge I paid for was upgrading our seats from economy to premium economy. Also, my TA and I went online to see what flights were available, and even though they weren't on the Avalon site, Avalon still booked them for us at their rate.

According to their rep, Viking let's you fly in and out of one of 25 cities up to a total of 30 days pre- or post-cruise, for an added charge of $100 pp. I haven't used this service, so someone may have better information. We're planning to make our river cruise part of a wider European trip, so this option was of interest to us.

5 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I'll second the recommendation, and explain.  It's about quality.  Viking's ships have the highest number of passengers crammed into the same size hull; AMA has more room per passengers in every area (public, and cabin sizes).  AMA spends more on food per passenger than Viking [according to the Berlitz River Cruising guide].  AMA has more choices of shore excursions and they are all included [I couldn't believe the recent thread about a Colmar tour on Viking costing $159 per person – that tour is free on AMA], and the groups are smaller.

 

One other thought: all pre- and post-extensions on all cruise lines are pricey, but with AMA at least the same Cruise Director accompanies you throughout so you have a high level of service and continuity. 

This is very helpful! Thank you!

8 hours ago, CielBleu said:

We chose Avalon for many reasons and loved the cabin with the huge sliding glass opening French balcony.  The only thing I will mention as a negative is when you open up the panoramic window, the air conditioning automatically turns off.  We sailed end of August and did not find this to be very bad, but I can see where if you're cruising in maybe July or earlier in August, it might be somewhat of a problem.  The mornings and evenings were fine, but if you decide to skip an excursion and are in your room during the afternoon, it could get hot in the room.  That said, we wouldn't hesitate to take Avalon again and there are plenty of places to sit and enjoy a glass of wine and beautiful views on both sides of the riverbank.  I hope you aren't making your decision solely on the veranda aspect.  There are a lot more advantages to both Ama and Avalon than there are to Viking.  If it's only between Ama and Viking, I'd definitely choose Ama.

Ok, I'll hijack my own thread..😁

Why Ama over Viking? They seem very similar on the surface. One reason we're leaning towards Viking is that their air deals allow deviations/extensions for $100 pp.

17 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

That is always the best plan, for those that know when they can travel.  Luckily with my wife being a teacher and kids in school I know exactly when we can and can't travel

One of the best things about retiring from teaching was being able to cruise the shoulder season and repositioning itineraries.

4 minutes ago, swoopy2110 said:

It's crazy they load them into the live booking system and make them bookable too.

You'd think in 2023 they'd be able to put them onto the system but make them only visible in the back end / require a promo code to view for internal staff or something.

LOL. At Royal Caribbean IT, it's always 2005.

2 hours ago, pontac said:

I've had rooms with French Balcony on Viking and with  Verandas on Scenic and Viking.

 

No one has mentioned time of year and weather. Sitting outside when cruising is very enjoyable, but the boat's movement creates a draught. Sitting outside in cold weather is no fun; the only time I made full use of a Veranda was in August this year on the Rhone when the temperature was a glorious +-30C.

 

Also  if one is travelling through a particularly picturesque region, say the middle Rhine with its multiple romantic castles and the Lorelei Rock, from a Veranda or French one can see only one bank of the river so miss half the sights. One is better off on the top deck or in the lounge.

 

Also, you don't mention where you intend cruising. Boats are made to fit the locks and conditions of the river so the same company will have different sized boats. And the boat outside Europe are quite different. 

 

If you're cruising in winter, then is a veranda worth paying extra for? If cruising in summer I'd say yes!

 

But, there's plenty of outside seating so one can get the outside experience and see the views no matter which cabin you have.

 

 

We're doing late spring or summer in Europe. I think we'll use the balcony. If we're docked right next to someone, maybe we'll make new friends!

Really great input and information! I'm thinking we might want to enjoy a glass of wine on a balcony while sailing... For our first trip I'm leaning towards Ama or Viking for the balcony. If we don't use it, we'll try the French balcony on our next river cruise.

We're planning our first river cruise and were looking at Viking and Ama veranda/balcony cabins. Avalon has some good deals going on, but they only have french balconies. 

We've done a lot of ocean cruising, and I didn't really care for their new infinity veranda on Apex. 

Looking for opinions on Avalon and their panoramic suites vs the true (but probably small) verandas on Ama and Viking.

Thanks!!